


Laura Barton Is Actually Pretty Subtle

by psychoroach



Series: The Subtle Series [3]
Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Kissing, Painting, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 16:45:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16329818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychoroach/pseuds/psychoroach
Summary: Laura and Steve redo the master bedroom while Clint is off with the kids and Natasha.





	Laura Barton Is Actually Pretty Subtle

**Author's Note:**

> Read, review, kudos.

Steve fought down the slight amount of panic at the fact that, as soon as Laura came back with the kids, Clint decided it was his turn to take them out for a few days. He made excuses, said that he did 'this' every year. For a few days he'd load the kids up and they'd go out camping somewhere, daddy-kid time. Of course Nathaniel was too young to really go camping just yet, but Clint shrugged when it was brought up and tossed out a 'we'll wing it'. Laura didn't seem too concerned, so Steve knew Clint had it all under control. 

When Natasha showed up on the day Clint was heading out, Steve raised an eyebrow at Laura, who just raised one back. Then she laughed at the look on Steve's face. "I'm not going to worry about anything happening, Steve." She told him, whacking him on the arm. "You know as well as I do that they're more like siblings than anything. Besides, she's in a relationship with your buddy Bucky." 

"What?!" Steve's eyes bugged out of his head. "I didn't know that!" 

Laura shrugged. "Nat and I talk a lot. She tells me everything." 

"I'll kill him." He muttered under his breath.

She laughed. "For dating Natasha?" 

He flushed. "No. For not telling me." 

"It's new." She patted his arm. "They've only been doing stuff about a month now. Maybe he didn't want to jinx it, or wanted to make sure they were going to work out before he told you. Hell, you know how paranoid people in your line of work can be." 

"Yeah, I guess." Still he resigned to give Bucky a call and talk to him, give him a chance to say something. 

Clint came down then with the kids all packed up and goodbyes were exchanged before he headed out with them, Natasha proclaiming loudly that she made a playlist for the entire drive, causing Clint to groan loudly and the kids to cheer. It made Steve smile. 

After they left, Laura looked at Steve, who started to feel awkward again. She laughed and nudged him. "Calm down, soldier, I only bite if you want me to." 

"I've just never really been good with women before." Steve put his hands in his pockets and Laura watched, fascinated, as his body language moved in such a way that he looked more like the Brooklyn boy he had been before Project Rebirth happened. She had no idea how he managed it. 

"Maybe you just haven't been around the right women." She suggested, turning away from him. "Are you hungry? I packed up their lunch, but I could use some myself." 

"That's my secret, Laura." He said wryly, grinning to himself as he followed her. "I'm always hungry."

She made them up a stack of club sandwiches, claiming she needed to get rid of 'some leftover deli meat' she had in the fridge and Steve demolished about two thirds of them by himself, when she ate two and said that was her limit. They had a pint of strawberries as a 'dessert' and Steve helped her throw everything away and wash the two dishes they'd used. 

"So I hear you're quite the painter." She looked up at him. 

He shrugged. "I'm better at drawing, honestly." 

"Can you use a roller?" She asked.

"Never tried, but it doesn't look that hard." He grinned.

"Good, come on." She gestured with her head. "Clint and I want to repaint our bedroom. I have the cans out on the back porch. Plus we got a bigger bed coming today. I want to have the room done before it gets here." 

"Why do you have a bigger bed?" He asked, following her.

"Because, we need the space." She grinned. "Also while we're here, you can help me turn your room into an office." 

Steve stopped in place and looked at her weirdly, a little hurt. "Are you kicking me out?" 

Laura turned to look at him and smiled. She walked over and put a hand on his arm. "No. You're moving in with me and Clint. Why do you think we need the bigger bed?" 

Steve sputtered at that, going bright red. "What?!" 

Laura laughed. "I know you kissed Clint." She pointed out. "I also know he talked to you about how we feel about you." 

"Don't you think that's a little fast?" Steve asked.

"Steve, you've been living here for over a year now." Laura commented. "We've pretty much gone through that weird, awkward, getting-to-know-you phase. Besides, things work differently than they did almost 80 years ago, no offense. But I mean, if you aren't ready...

Steve was shaking his head almost before she stopped talking. "I...to be honest? The thought doesn't make me as uncomfortable as it should." He ducked his head and scuffed his toe on the ground like a shy little boy. It was adorable.

"Good." She grinned at him and held out two cans of paint. Steve took them and looked the color over curiously. It was labeled as teal blue, and Steve thought it looked like a greenish color with a blue tint to it. It was nice. "We're going for a rustic sort of thing." She explained. "Well what passes for rustic in those new age hipster design magazines." 

He walked into the bedroom with her and noticed that somehow it had been stripped bare already. He looked at Laura questioningly.

She laughed and shrugged. "Clint and I couldn't sleep last night so we stripped everything out so you and I could paint today." 

"I could think of a few other things to do besides that if I couldn't sleep." Steve muttered to himself, then turned bright red when he realized Laura heard him.

"We did that after; in the shower this morning before anyone else was up." She hip checked him as she passed by and put down some plastic trays they poured the paint into. Steve had to admit that it was a nice color, and he liked it a lot. "Clint's not real picky on wall color, so he leaves a lot of the decorating to me. He just didn't want it to be pink, orange or white." 

"Who'd paint a wall orange?" Steve asked, disgusted.

Laura laughed. "My bedroom from thirteen to sixteen was orange...well it was creamsicle. But it was a pale orange. I was a strange little kid." 

Steve didn't say anything to that. "So we just..."

"Dip and roll, Steve, dip and roll." Laura dipped her roller in the paint and demonstrated on one of the walls, going in a big W pattern, over and over itself until the paint covered the area. Steve watched her for a few seconds before he got the idea and followed her.

After about an hour, the paint fumes were getting to both of them, so Steve opened the windows to let in some fresh air (which was more like fresh hell since it was still hot outside). Once they got most of the walls done, he looked around and realized that the color wasn't as dark as he thought it was going to be, and he liked it even more. It was still dark, but it made the room feel cozy in a way, like he could laze around in there and feel relaxed and nice. 

Steve turned and regarded Laura curiously. She was up on a small ladder cutting the paint around the top of the walls, a concentrated look on her face as she tried her best not to get paint on the ceiling. Ceilings hadn't changed much since Steve's day, and it was the same awful popcorn material he could remember from his youth. Getting paint on it would just result in it getting saturated and coming off in areas. "Are you making this bedroom more inviting for me?" He asked.

Laura grinned at that and looked over her shoulder at him. "What? I liked the paint color." 

"It's very nice." Steve said honestly. He regarded her for a few seconds more, and then went back to putting more paint in areas that dried a little lighter and looked strange. 

Once the paint was finished, the bed got there, and Steve helped the movers get it in. It consisted of a very large California King sized mattress and a circular padded platform that went around the mattress. It was all very modern in a way that Steve didn't exactly _get_ , but liked the look of anyway. The circular padded platform had two small side table desk type things that were attached and were in a dark grey that reminded Steve of the way the clouds looked when a storm was coming. The headboard was the same grey color and Steve thought it worked really well with the walls. It contrasted in a really interesting sort of way. 

After that all was set up, Steve helped her bring in the dressers and put bedding on the bed. Laura laid down on it and moaned softly, putting her arm over her face. "It's so comfortable." She said quietly. 

"Really?" Steve smiled down at her, leaning his ass against the dresser. 

Laura peeked up at him and beckoned at him. "Come try it out. It's going to be good even for your soldier sensibilities. I know sometimes you think mattresses are like a marshmallow." 

Steve flushed again, but didn't overthink it as he slipped into the bed and laid down. He moaned quietly as well, causing her to chuckle. "Ok you're right, this bed is really comfortable." 

"I told you so." Laura moved over and laid her head on his chest. Steve's arm came up instinctively, wrapping around her shoulders. 

"Yeah, you were right." Steve teased. "I'll never think anything else." 

Laura looked up at him. "Steve..." 

Steve looked down at her. "Huh?" He mumbled quietly. 

Laura moved more toward him and their lips met in a soft kiss. It wasn't anything thrilling, and wasn't nearly as intense as the one Clint had laid on him. But it still made Steve's pulse race, and he found himself hugging her closer.

When they pulled back from the kiss, both of them were out of breath (which was hilarious to Steve because he hardly ever got out of breath if he wasn't fighting crime) and Laura was smiling at him, a light flush on her cheeks. "I knew you were trying to seduce me." Steve blurted out.

Laura laughed loudly, throwing her head back and grabbing onto the front of his shirt. "I am not, you dork." She swatted at him. "But who knows, Clint and the kids are going to be gone for a few days, who knows what we can get up to before they get back." 

Steve was more than ok with that.


End file.
